KLEAR.COMFormer NBA star Allen Iverson averaged a program record of 23 points per game during his two-year career at Georgetown.

Allen Iverson, former Georgetown basketball player and NBA star, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday.

Iverson is many things: a former NBA MVP, an NBA All-Star, a Philadelphia sports icon, an alleged thug, a pioneer of the modern game — and the list goes on.

He was also a Hoya. For two seasons, from 1994-96, Iverson suited up for former Head Coach John Thompson Jr. and led Georgetown to two straight Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA tournament, reaching the Elite 8 his sophomore year.

For all the controversy surrounding his career, from his arrest in high school to his early departure from the university to his infamous “practice” rant, Iverson polarized pundits and fans for nearly 20 years. His influence on the game’s style and evolution, however, has lasted far longer.

The Basketball Hall of Fame takes into account a player’s entire career, meaning Iverson’s accomplishments as a Hoya weighed into his acceptance.

In two seasons on the Hilltop, Iverson averaged 23 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game and 3.2 steals per game. Named Big East Rookie of the Year his freshman year and First Team All-American his sophomore year, Iverson was a star from day one.

Iverson’s presence at Georgetown was memorable from day one. Before him, no player had electrified the crowds the way he did. Sure, the team had Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85) to anchor three trips to the National Championship in four years, but Iverson brought to Georgetown what was only found in recreational leagues and parks across the country: streetball.

Iverson’s style of play was flashy, relying on embarrassing defenders with crossovers and fancy dribble moves. Iverson also relied on his slashing and toughness in taking the ball to the rim, highly unconventional for a 6-foot, 180-pound guard.

And throughout his career, unconventional became the former Hoya great’s calling card. He attacked the rim with unique style and fearlessness. His relative smaller size did not matter.

Off the court, he dressed unconventionally, sporting do-rags, gaudy chains and oversized basketball jerseys, speaking with an unmatched candidness. The opinions of others did not matter to him.

Rarely could Iverson go anywhere without being both loved and hated, yet he never let it affect his play on the court.

Perhaps that is what is most charming about Iverson. He was tough, brushing off criticism as easily as he did his size limitations. In a sport traditionally dominated by the tallest of men, the smallest of them all holds the moniker of “pound for pound, the greatest player of all-time.” No other player made the most of what he had like Iverson.

His induction into the Hall of Fame is clearly justifiable just by looking at his stats — both at Georgetown and in the NBA. But his overall influence on the game of basketball is what has made Iverson a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the highest honor in a basketball player’s career.

Though Iverson has long since retired, his influence never will. For a player nicknamed “The Answer,” it is fitting that whenever a young guard of small stature breaks onto the scene, electrifying crowds with crafty moves and grit, there is no question as to whom he will resemble.

Clarence Benjamin Jones, the speechwriter for Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, visited Georgetown on

DAN GANNON/THE HOYA
Panelists discussed the political future of Latin America at a student-organized conference in the HFSC on Friday.

CAROLINE KENNEALLY FOR THE HOYA
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (CAS ’57) delivered a guest lecture for 360 first-year law students in the Hart Auditorium at the Georgetown University Law Center’s McDonough Hall on Monday. He discussed his career, infamous dissents and originalist viewpoints.

ROBERT CORTES FOR THE HOYA
Graduate student goalkeeper Emma Newins played in her fourth consecutive NCAA tournament.

ROBERT CORTES FOR THE HOYA
Junior forward Grace Damaska scored the goal that tied the game and forced overtime in Georgetown’s loss to Hofstra in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

ELIZA MINEAUX FOR THE HOYA
Senior forward Brandon Allen was awarded the Big East tournament’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player honor following the Hoyas’ 2-1 victory over Creighton in the championship match.

ROBERT CORTES/THE HOYA
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a Democratic presidential candidate, addressed a Gaston Hall audience that could not accommodate all who started lining up before 6 a.m. Thursday.

STEPHANIE YUAN FOR THE HOYA
Scott Dikkers, founding editor and former editor-in-chief of The Onion, spoke to more than 300 students in the ICC Auditorium on Monday.

NAAZ MODAN/THE HOYA
The Mind-Body Medicine Program, which launched 13 years ago in the Georgetown University Medical Center, has expanded to undergraduates over the past few years, catering students in the School of Nursing and Health Studies and the School of Foreign Service who experience stress.

NAAZ MODAN/THE HOYA
All 95 Coca-Cola vending machines on the main campus and law center have been upgraded to be compatible with payments by credit card, Apple Pay or Google Wallet in addition to payments by cash and GoCard.